Drugs find as guard arrested in jail probe
DRUGS and cash were found at properties in Southport and Bootle after a guard was suspected of trying to smuggle drugs into HMP Liverpool.
A 30-year-old male from Bootle was arrested Thursday morning last week on suspicion of possession with intent to supply class A and B drugs and misconduct in a public office.
The arrest by police officers form Titan, the North West regional organised crime unit came after an intelligence-led joint operation also including HMP Liverpool, the prison service’s North West area search team (NWAST).
Two addresses in Southport and Bootle were searched following the arrest, resulting in a significant quantity of drugs and cash being recovered.
The prison security governor, James Winrow, admitted that the Walton jail does have a problem with corruption but vowed to tackle the “small number of individuals.”
He said: “The prison service as a whole and staff here at HMP Liverpool view corruption amongst staff as one of the most serious threats the prison service faces and despite the fact the vast majority of staff are professional, hardworking officers, we do have a small number of individuals who believe that it is okay to convey drugs into a prison, putting the health and safety of staff and inmates at risk.
“We will look to root out that small, but determined, minority and stop them from coming into the prison.”
Det Sgt John Davies from Titans’s prison investigation unit said: “The North West ROCU will continue to do everything we can to identify the staff in North West prisons that are believed to be corrupt and prevent them bringing in contraband.
“This arrest comes as part of a long term strategy to reduce the amount of corruption within the North West. The drugs recovered today were destined for HMP Liverpool if they had been smuggled into the prison would have had a detrimental effect on the lives of the vulnerable inmates and hardworking staff within the prison.”